Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse II (1930-2015)

On July 28, 2015, Nigerians work up to the news of the death of the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade Olubuse 11. But in accordance with traditional practice, reports of his demise in London were not confirmed, indeed refuted, by the traditional council of Ile Ife. The death was however officially announced on Wednesday August 12, 2015.
Following the announcement, many dignitaries condoled with the people of the state and Yoruba community in general.  President Muhammadu Buhari, in a statement by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, commiserated with the late monarch’s family, friends, associates and those that are subject to the Ife jurisdiction as well as the government of Osun State.
He joined in mourning the revered traditional ruler who, the president said, would be long remembered and celebrated for his worthy service over more than three decades as chief custodian of the traditions of the Yoruba and his invaluable contributions to the sustenance of the cultural heritage of his people within and outside Nigeria.
Osun State’s Governor Rauf Aregbesola said the “late Ooni represented the Yoruba nation and did a lot in uplifting the traditional institution in the state”.
Aregbesola described the death of the Ooni as a great loss to the state and the Yoruba people. Other governors and traditional rulers also condoled with the people over the death. Born on January 1, 1930, he was crowned the Ooni of Ife on December 6, 1980, taking the regal title Olubuse II. His coronation ceremony was attended by the late Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, with whom he maintained a close friendship; the late Oba of Benin Omo’Noba N’Edo Ukwakpolokpolo, the Amayanabo of Opobo and Olu of Warri, and representatives of the Queen of England.
Sijuwade was born to the Ogboru ruling house, grandson of the Ooni Sijuwade Adelekan Olubuse I. He studied at Abeokuta Grammar School and Oduduwa College in Ile-Ife. He worked for three years in his father’s business, then for two years with the Nigerian Tribune newspaper before attending Northampton College in the United Kingdom to study business management. By the age of 30, he was a manager in Leventis, a Greek-Nigerian trading conglomerate. In 1963, he became Sales Director of the state-owned National Motors in Lagos. After spotting a business opportunity during a 1964 visit to the Soviet Union, he formed a company to distribute Soviet-built vehicles and equipment in Nigeria, which became the nucleus of a widespread business empire. He also invested in real estate in his home town of Ile Ife. As a businessman, Prince Sijuwade maintained diverse social, political, ethnic and ideological groups of friends in Nigeria and abroad. By the time Sijuwade was crowned Ooni in 1980, he had become a wealthy man.
He was also an astute negotiator in settling communal disputes.
In February 2009, Sijuwade helped mediate in a decades’ old dispute over land ownership between the communities of Ife and Modakeke. The crisis was resolved in part through the elevation of the Ogunsua of Modakeke to the status of an Oba.    Also in August 2010, he mediated in the ownership dispute between Oyo and Osun states concerning Ladoke Akintola University, calling a meeting attended by Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, Governor of Osun State, Otumba Adebayo Alao-Akala, governor of Oyo State and the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education which resulted in an action plan.
Though he worked hard for the stability of the Yoruba nation, his reign as Ooni was not without controversies.  Notable among these was the supremacy tussle between Ife and Oyo, which he inherited when he ascended the throne. In 1976, the governor of Old Oyo State, General David Jemibewon, had decreed that the Ooni of Ife would be the permanent chairman of the state’s Council of Obas and Chiefs. Other Obas led by the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi insisted that the position should rotate among first class monarchs.
Though, the tussle lost steam when Osun State was created out of the old Oyo in August 1991, the rivalry raged on. In January 2009, Sijuwade opened old wounds when he was quoted as saying that Oba Adeyemi was ruling a dead empire.  Adeyemi fired back saying the remark was absurd, accusing the Ooni of “not being in tune with his own history”.  The development caused Adeyemi, Permanent Chairman of the Oyo State Council of Obas and Chiefs, to shun meetings of Yoruba leaders.
 No doubt Olubuse II was worthy citizen; we join in mourning the passage of a great mind, and calling for calm and peaceful transition when the process of selecting a successor is set.